TEMPTATION

TEMPTATION – 1st Sunday of Lent, Year C

            A man said he had no problem at all with temptation, but he had a lot of problems with sin. We need to have more problems with temptation than with sin. Temptation comes before sin. Not to struggle with temptation is to invite problems with sin.

            Only if we struggle with temptation will we have problems with them, and know their strength. Temptations can also teach us about our own weaknesses and strengths. We are supposed to have problems with temptations. Having problems with them means less problems with sin. Giving into temptations means increased problems with sin, and sin’s power.

            Lent is the season to do more than usual battle with temptation and sin in our life, and to follow the Lord as His disciples. Luke sets the tone for the followers of Jesus by telling us that Jesus entered into battle with Satan. “Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.” The fasting Jesus did made Him more subject to the temptations. Whenever we attempt to give up anything, temptations can become or seem greater.

            People dealing with addictions or compulsions or habits of sin of any kind know the strength of temptations better than anyone else, when they decide to do battle with them. Only those who struggle against temptations know their power. All the basic drives and needs of the human person can become areas for temptation.

            Temptation does its best work when it can lead a person into a habit or an addiction to some sinful thought or action. When the person becomes addicted, the temptation is no longer necessary. The addiction or habit takes over and the person loses much of their freedom in the area of their addiction and in other areas as well.

            The battle is best won at the beginning. If it is not won there, it is possible that nothing short of full scale spiritual war will again be able to regain the freedom of the person. We need to always be concerned with prevention and strengthening against the taking over of our person by some sinful habit, addiction or compulsion. This seems especially true in the areas of drugs, sexuality, food and drink. There are some drugs that are almost instantly addictive, such as pornography, which studies show starts within minutes.

            We need to be watchful. The world, the flesh and the devil devise temptations suited to our individual persons. What is a temptation for one, may not be for another. You and I are not likely to be tempted as Jesus was to turn stones into bread, or to test God to send a legion of angels to save us when we jump off the Tennessee River Bridge.

            The devil devised temptations that would appeal to Jesus. As the Son of God, He had the power to change stones into bread. But the Father wanted Jesus to carry out His mission according to His human nature. “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”

            The devil knows how to present evil as good and good as evil. He does it according to each person’s needs and weaknesses. Like Jesus, we have to keep before us God’s ways for us to fulfill our human needs. Under temptation to fulfill our needs in wrong ways, we need to speak the right Scriptures to ourselves, the world and the devil, as Jesus did.

            We need to be conscious of our needs and how we are fulfilling those needs. Needs can be fulfilled in sinful and/or harmful ways. A need to succeed becomes sin when the means to success are lying, stealing, and cheating. A need for love becomes sinful when it leads to lust. A need for independence becomes sin when it leads to rebellion, lack of respect for others, and harm. A need “to think for one’s self” becomes the sin of pride when one concludes they know better than the Lord on human life. We need to know when and how we are, or could be, tempted in order to do battle with temptation. Some don’t know they are being tempted, and don’t even know the word.

            Lent is a time to do battle with sin with the Spirit’s help, and the sword of God’s Word. It’s the time to lessen our problems with sin and increase them with temptation. “Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.” (Ps. 91)

From the Diary of St. Faustina (1520)

“I have opened My Heart as a living fountain of mercy. Let all souls draw life from it. Let them approach this sea of mercy with great trust.”